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Meeting the Public Health Challenge

It is apparent as March progresses that everyday lives are going to affected over the next few weeks, as we adapt to the impact of the Coronavirus and measures to address it. There is no need for panic but following good advice from known trusted sources will help. Unfortunately, fake news and misinformation spreads easily on social media so one simple thing we can all do is not share anything that is not easily cross-referenced from a credible source.

The advice being put out from government comes from our best medical experts which we should of course follow. I’ve seen some very disappointing comments online, effectively saying we don’t need to do anything because it’s only the elderly or those with existing health conditions who can get seriously ill from Coronavirus. Aside from such a view being selfish and heartless, it is also very dangerous too, because it is those of us who aren’t likely to become very ill who will be the chief spreaders of the virus to those people to whom this can be fatal.

While most of us will not catch Covid19, we all need to keep an eye out for older and more vulnerable people, many of whom will be concerned at the risk of becoming ill, and who also may be at risk of greater social isolation due to needing to stay at home more than normal.

While the government and NHS will lead and are working around the clock, we all have a role to play in managing the spread of coronavirus, whether that’s regularly washing our hands more often for 20 seconds or catching our sneezes in a tissue that is then binned.

The UK is virtually the least affected country in western Europe when the number of cases are compared to population size, but we know things will get worse before they get better, so it’s time to put politics to one side and all pull together. Our economy will be affected and people in Crawley in some sectors are already impacted, so let’s support our local businesses whenever we can.

Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group